Hot-air dryer for slashers



Feb. 19, 1952 ca. L. BALL 2,586,200

HOT-AIR DRYER FOR SLASHERS Filed May 25, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR. GAINES LAMAR BALL ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1952 G. L. BALL 2,536,200

HOT-AIR DRYER FOR SLASHERS Filed May 25, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. GAINES LAMAR BALL BY DOA/ ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1952 G. L. BALL HOT-AIR DRYER FOR SLASHERS 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed May 25, 1950 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. GAINES LAMAR BALL BY 52 A; [W

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1952 HOT-AIR DRYER FOR SLASHERS Gaines L. Ball, West Point, Ga., assignor to Batson-Cook Company, West Point, Ga., a corporation of'Georgia Application May 25, 1950, Serial N. 164,277

Claims. 1

Slashers are used in the textile industry to apply starch or other liquid to yarn preparatory to winding onto a loom beam for weaving. The necessity of a dryer in such anroperation is to remove the moisture that is picked up when the starch is applied,

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dryer for slashers which is compact in design and arranged for use with any presently existing head and size box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dryer for slashers wherein the material to be dried is passed beneath perforated surfaces. of several chambers; each chamber being in con.- tact with a blower fan and anair heating unit to provide uniform circulation to the air, as .well as uniform drying of the air during its circulating cycle.

A further object of the inventionisto provide a dryer of the character described Whereineach blower of the unit may be separately controlled or operated simultaneously; and wherein,.. when the unit ceases operation, one of the blowers continues to operate to remove all hot air fromtwithin the various chambers to insure qualityin the material itself.

A further object of the invention istov provide a dryer for drying substantially all spun and filament fibers wherein the enclosure or housing of the mechanism is insulated. from the interior drying chambers as a means of assisting the initial drying and preventing condensation Still another object of the invention is to provide a dryer for slashers wherein abortion of the hot air used for drying is. automatically recirculated through a portion. of the dryer, thus economizing the use of the heating coils,

Other objects and advantages of the inventher-for the shaft ends, yet still prevent condensation.

Within the. framework ID are separately formed. upper, intermediate and lower air chambers l3, l5 and I1,. respectively, and upper, in-

termediate and lower drying chambers l4, l6 and i8, respectively, all arranged in the manner: illustrated in Figv l. The upper air chamber l3 simply constitutes a sheet metal enclosure the bottom i9 of whichis perforated with numerous small holes l9 throughout its length.

The fibers 20, coming from anotherportion of themachine enter the present dryer at they point designated by the letter E, just below the upper air chamber I 3. The materialris extended upwardly at an angle. and is passed over aroller 2|, from, whence it is drawn below the perforated bottom 22 of the air chamber l5. It is then passed over a lowerroller 23, under the perforated bottom 24 of the chamber l1, over additional rollers 25 and 26 and is finally drawn from the dryer at point'Y.

The path of the air through the machine, together with a description of. the methods of heating is as follows:

The air is drawn into the dryer just above the point of exit of the material, through an air screen (not shown), and across a heating element 21. The heating element, in this instance, consists of a radiator structure provided with steam coils over which the air passes for heating. The steam element, however, might as easily be replaced by any form of electrical or other heating unit which would serve the same tion will become apparent when viewed together with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of my invention in a dryer for slashers, the outer hous ing being removed.

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a broken, isometric view showing the heating coils and the interior of the various chambers more clearly.

In the drawings, numeral I0 designates the frame generally which is a fabricated, box-like structure, the sides being extended to form spaced enclosures II. and I2. Thenoutsidelwalls of these enclosures are provided withlopenings (not shown) which give access to the various wer ing. p rts of. the machine and which,at the 'twiceacross or through thefibers 20. -hausted air from the blower 311 is forced with considerable pressureinto the chamber- I! where purpose. As shown. by the directional arrows, the air enters the lower chamber i8 through a series of dampers 28. These dampers maybe manually controlled or may be'spring or gravity closed according'to thevolume and velocity of air passing through. It is also within the scope of the present invention to adjust the damper openings according to the humidity of the air in the various chambers;

. From the lower chamber l8, the air-is drawn forwardly through another heating coil and into a. front pocket or compartment 29.

At the upper end of chamber i1 is a blower 3H rotated by an electric motor 3| mounted on the outer framework H) of the dryer. The blower has its suction side open to the compartment 29 and itsexhaust directed into the chamber i1. Thus far theair isrheatedtwice. and is drawn The ex- 3 it again is forced through the perforated bottom 24 of the chamber I1 and through the material again and into the bottom chamber 18.

At the rear end of the air chamber I5 is another blower 32 having its suction end open to the rear end of chamber l8 and its exhaust end directed in a manner to exhaust the air into chamber l5.

From the directional arrows it can be seen that much of the air exhausted from chamber l1 into chamber I8 is drawn by the blower 32 and passed over additional heating coils 33, through the perforated bottom of chamber I5, through the material and into the circulating area Hi. It will be seen that each time the air is moved from chamber to chamber that it passes through the material to absorb moisture therefrom.

From the area I6 the air is drawn upwardly over the extreme top guide roll 2|, around the top of the structure I0 and through additional heating coils 34. The blower 35 is arranged with the suction side open to the air passing through the heating coils 34 and has its exhaust side connected to an opening in the upper chamber I9. When the air is forced through the fibers and the perforated bottom l9 of the upper chamber I3, a portion of it may be allowed to escape to the outer atmosphere through another set of ventilators or dampers 36, while the remainder is drawn through the intake of the blower 32 and re-cycled back through the air chamber l5.

When the dryer ceases operation, the blowers 35 and 32 are cut off, leaving the front blower running. Simultaneously with the cutting off of the blowers and 32, the air dampers 28 are closed to seal off all the hot air in the various chambers, while a set of additional dampers 31 are opened to allow fresh, cool air to by-pass the first heating coil unit 2! and be blown through the machine and exhausted to atmosphere by the blower 30. This system of cooling prevents the fibers from being held too long under high temperatures which has the effect of lessening the quality of the material being processed.

As will be noted from the drawing, three sets of blowers are mounted on three common shafts and operated by individual electric motors. Since the outer ends of all shafts are journaled in the side frame Hi, all of the working parts of the machine are easily accessible for repair or replacement.

The machine is compact, easily cleaned and is arranged in such a manner that considerable length of material is dried before it leaves the machine. High inertia loads found in the prior art type of machine using large cylindrical heating drums have resulted in considerable override, causing the material to be sent from the machine undried and in poor condition. In the present invention such over-ride is prevented by the use of small rollers and by leaving a drying blower running after the material ceases to be pulled through the machine.

As pointed out above, the present dryer has the advantage of being able to re-circulate considerable volume of the heated air even after one cycle is completed.

The entire outer shell is intended to be covered with an insulating material 38 to insure uniform heating of the air in the inner chambers and to produce a machine which workmen may operate without subjecting themselves to undue heat commonly caused by this type of prior art textile machinery.

While I have described theinvention in detail,

in the embodiment shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that this has been by way of example only, and that changes could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dryer for slashers comprising an enclosure with means defining an upper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber adjoining said upper drying chamber and communicating therewith; an intermediate air chamber adjoining said intermediate drying chamber and communicating therewith; a lower air chamber adjoining said lower drying chamber and communi; eating therewith; means for passing material to be dried through said upper drying chamber, then through said intermediate drying chamber, and then through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium into said lower drying chamber; a passageway for gaseous drying medium having an intake side communicating with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; a passageway for gaseous drying medium having an intake side communicating with both said lower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; a passageway for gaseous drying medium having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chain her and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; heating means positioned in the path of said gaseous drying medium; and means for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from said dryer.

2. A dryer for slashers comprising an en closure with means defining an upper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned adjacent said upper drying chamber and communicating therewith; an intermediate air chamber positioned adjacent said intermedi-' ate drying chamber and communicating therewith; a lower air chamber positioned adjacent saidlower drying chamber and communicating therewith; means for passing material to be dried through said upper drying chamber, then through said intermediate drying chamber, and then through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium into said lower drying chamber; first blower means having an intake side communicat ing with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; second blower means having an intake side communicating with both said lower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower means having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; heating means positioned in the path of said gaseous drying medium; and means for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from. said dryer.

3. A dryer for slashers comprising an enclosurewith means defining an upper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned adjacent saidupper drying chamber and communicating therewith; an intermediateair chamber positioned adjacent said intermediate drying armamchamber and ccxnmunicatmsa herewitm fielQWQE a; no

1 chambr .di.

aidr ewerdry-insr hambem m ansz ine: the admission; o-vf-f'a aseous into said lower drying champ r, first; blower meanszhavina a l-intake sid o m-u mmuni ttic Y hamb r: othe rblowerem ans;havinaaamintakesid bmmuni a insiw tn said,inte med teidrrn rch rnb r? a d v n;I. xhaust;side emmunicating.

w-ith-vsaid unp n air. chamber; .m a ssior' bn mb linathe exhaustin o i id dr ainsm dium. rom aid dry s: fi t h a ean -posit nedinw he nath of r nszm di mntmdu ed nto: said low r ry g am r; se ond hea i g.- mean nosioned in the: p of: dr i gmedium:,= nterins ai ow ai hamb r hi heatin m ans positioned: in the-'1 path ofdrying medium: enter? ns; sai nt e ia e a rha b r;- and ther eat ner ean i p itio ed. in. heath of drying m di nteringsaidwup erv air. ch mber;

eid er-r l shersem r sinaanenclosure w th; means; efinin aniupp r r ng-cham er. n rm diate; y ng amb and. a ower ry ha be r n ps t ai hambe r- P95 nned. adjacent. aid up er r i ha r ber.- and mm i nsherewitb; an nterme iat a r chamber positioned, adjacent said intermediate dryi a h mb r a d s mu ica ina t erewit a ower-ai ch mbe nos ione djac nt sai a er d y n hamber and: mmuni ati her with; ea s-for pa s n mater al to. e dr edthr ueh sa d-up er dry n hamb r henv through said in? term i t tr ngv chamber, and. then: hr ugh a d lowerdryina cham er; mea stfor ontrol in the adm ssi or a aseo s dr ns, eclium nta said: lower dr in hamb fi st owereans having: an ntake. .sidecommunicating w th said lower d yin chamber and anexhaustsidecom: un ine with saidlower r ch mber; second blower means having anintake, side, ccmmunicat: ing t h. sa d w r r n h mber. and a d upper y gv h m er. andanl exhaust s de communicating with saidintermediate air cham: ber; other blower means havin an intake side communi at ng w th sa d interme amb r and xhaust, s. i hh aid pper ir h mber; c mmune eating with said'iup errdr ns chambe QiZQQllr o i t e austi i. said dry nam um msaid ryer; firs. heati ,rnea s 9 ned n thepath. of rying: m dium,, n 9duce ;i to he tin em s r l iumr..ente n a d1ower airamber; do ieatins; ean p iti ne rather r ing medi nt ing said, intermedia eair c.,.a1nb r; and' t er atin m ans. pbsi pned nr h ath oid yi medium. entering. at d. ppe ir" m A dr er-. or -,sh rs omn -a n re withv means defining an upper drying; chamber, an, intermediate drying chamber and a lower dryin ha ber; an upper i ha r; psi: inn d. adi sse t, said up r ra s; c a ber and amm nigat ns herew th; n in me -air. hamberrpsitioned adj en said" n m i t drying chamber and-communicating"therewith dryin mans eatin w 2 saidrlower ryins-ch .tb r-a nzexhaustside a-e air cham er? positiqnesl ad a nt said lowerrdryina: hamberndbmmu i ng ther wi h: meansxfor nassinem te a to; be dri d pw d-1y" throu h: said. .upp rdr -ins ham r, then downwardly:throngkrsaid intermediate 7 dryingachamberyand then; upwardly and then downwardlyq through; saidlower; drying chamber; means-forcontrollingthe admission of a gaseous drying med-iunr through said material to be dried andyinto; said lower'drying chamber; first blower means having an intake side communicating with said: lower d-ryingchamber-and an exhaust side communicating-with said lower air chamber; second blower-meansv having an intake, side communicatingwith both said lower drying chamber and said upper 'dryingchamber, and an exhaust sidewcommunicating--with said; intermediate air chamber; otherblower means having an intake sidelcommunicating with said intermediate drying:v chamber; andan exhaust side communicating with said; upper air, chamber; means communicating with said upper drying chamber for controllingthe exhausting of said; drying medium fromwsaid dryer; first-heating means positioned in- -the, path-of drying mediumintroduced into said lowerdrying; chamber; second heating means .-;posi tioned in the pathof drying medium entering saidlower air chamber; third heating meanspositioned in thepathofdrying medium entering; said intermediate air chamber; and otherheatingmeans' positioned in the path of drying medium enteringsa-id upperchamber.

6a. A dryerfor slashers comprising an enclosure with meansdefiningan upper drying chamber, anrintermediateedrying chamber and a lower drying; chamberqan upper air-- chamber positioned ibDYE' Sfi'id upper-drying. chamber and communieatingtherewith-y anintermediate air chamber positioned above said intermediate drying chamher and? communicating therewith; a lower air chamber;- positioned above said lower drying chamber: and communicating therewith; means for;- passingmaterial tobe dried: upwardly through saidupper drying chamber, then downwardly; through, said intermediate drying chamber',' and then, upwardly and then downwardly through-said; lower drying chamber; means for controlling: the admission of a gaseous drying mediumthrough said material to be dried and into said lower: drying, chamber; first blower means havingran intakeside communicating with said;-1owe-r-drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with. said lower air chamber; second-blower; means having an intake side com? municating: with both said lower drying chamber and saidupper-dryingchamber, and an exhaust side-communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower meanshaving an intake side communicatingwithsaid intermediate drying; chamber and'an exhaust side communicating with ,said upper, air chamber; means com: munieating; with said upper drying t chamber for controlling the, exhaustingof, said drying medium frpmsaid..,dryer; first heating means positioned in, the path of. drying. medium introduced into sai ldw rf dryin ch mb r; second heatin means- DQSitioned in the path of drying medium enteringsaid lower airchamber; third heating means positioned in the-path of drying; medium entering-- said intermediateair chamber; and other heating means positioned in the, path, of drying-medium-entering said upperair chamber.

7.: A; dryerforslasherscomprising an insulated enclosure-with meansdefiningr an upper drying chamber; an intermediateedrying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned above -said upper drying chamber and communicating therewith; an intermediate air chamber positioned above said intermediate drying chamber and communicating therewith; a lower air chamber positioned above said lower drying chamber and communicating therewith; means for passing material to be dried upwardly through said upper drying chamber, then downwardly through said intermediate drying chamber, and then upwardly and then downwardly through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium through said material to be dried and into said lower drying chamber; first blower means having an intake side communicating with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; second blower means having an intake side communicating with both said lower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower means having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; means communicating with said upper drying chamber for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from said dryer, first heating means positioned in the path of drying medium introduced into said lower drying chamber; second heating means positioned between said lower drying chamber and the intake side of said first blower means; third heating means positioned between the exhaust side of said second blower means and said intermediate air chamber; and other heating means positioned between said interme diate drying chamber and said other blower means.

8. A dryer for slashers comprising an insulated enclosure with means defining anuoper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned above said up er drying chamber and communicating therewith; an intermediate air chamber positioned above said intermediate drying chamber and communicating therewith; a lower air chamber positioned above said lower drying chamber and communicating therewith; means forpassing material to be dried upwardly through said upper drying chamber, then downwardly through said intermediate drying chamber, and then upwardly and then downwardly through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium through said material to be dried and into said lower drying chamber; first blower means having an intake side communicating with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; second blower means having an intake side communicating with both said lower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower means having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; means communicating with said upper drying chamber for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from said dryer; first heating means positioned in the path of drying medium introduced into said lower drying chamber; second heating means positioned between said lower drying chamber and the intake side of said first blower means; third heating means positioned between the exhaust side of said second blower means and said intermediate air chamber; other heating means positioned between said intermediate drying chamber and said other blower means; and means for by-passing said means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium so as to admit cooling air to the intake side of said first blower means.

9. A dryer for slashers comprising an insulated enclosure with means defining an upper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned above said upper drying chamber and communicating therewith by means of a perforated nozzle plate; an intermediate air chamber positioned above said intermediate drying chamber and communicating therewith by means of a perforated nozzle plate; a lower air chamber positioned above said lower drying chamber and communicating therewith by 'means of a perforated nozzle plate, means for passing material to be dried upwardly through said upper drying chamber, then downwardly through said intermediate drying chamber, and then upwardly and then downwardly through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium through said material to be dried and into said lower drying chamber; first blower means having an intake sideico nmunicating with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; second blower means having an intake side communicating with both saidlower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower means having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; means communicating with said upper drying chamber for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from said dryer; first heating means positioned in the path of drying medium introduced into said lower drying chamber; second heating means positioned between said lower drying chamber and the intake side of said first blower means; third heating means positioned between the exhaust side of said second blower means and said intermediate air chamber; and other heating means positioned between said intermediate drying chamber and said other .blower means.

10. A dryer for slashers comprising an insulated enclosure with means defining an upper drying chamber, an intermediate drying chamber and a lower drying chamber; an upper air chamber positioned above said upper drying chamber and communicating therewith by means of a perforated nozzle plate; an intermediate air chamber positioned above said intermediate, drying chamber and communicating therewith by means of a perforated nozzle plate, a lower air chamber positioned above said lower drying chamber and communicatingtherewith by means of a perforated nozzle plate; means for passing material to be dried upwardly through said. upper drying chamber, then downwardly through said intermediate drying chamber, and then upwardly and then downwardly through said lower drying chamber; means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium through said material to be dried and into said lower drying chamber; first blower 75 means having an intake side communicating with said lower drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said lower air chamber; second blower means having an intake side communicating with both said lower drying chamber and said upper drying chamber, and an exhaust side communicating with said intermediate air chamber; other blower means having an intake side communicating with said intermediate drying chamber and an exhaust side communicating with said upper air chamber; means communicating with said upper drying chamber for controlling the exhausting of said drying medium from said dryer; first heating means positioned in the path of drying medium introduced into said lower drying chamber; second heating means positioned between said lower drying chamber and the intake side of said first blower means; third heating means positioned between the exhaust side of said second blower means and said intermediate air chamber; other heating means positioned between said intermediate 10 drying chamber and said other blower means; and means for by-passing said means for controlling the admission of a gaseous drying medium so as to admit cooling air to the intake side of said first blower means.

GAINES L. BALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,462,380 Gautreau Feb. 22, 1949 2,541,383 Rose Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 584,938 Germany Sept. 26, 1933 608,656 Germany Jan. 29, 1935 

